Welcome back to Money with Mak & G. We love you and we’re grateful you’re here. And, I need to say right out of the gate. THANK YOU! We passed 50,000 downloads. It’s really awesome having the traction as well as the EduCounting website building with more articles, content and more. Plus YouTube is fast approaching 400,000 downloads, so Thank You and we love you! It is Valentine’s Day, and I hope your sweetie is taken care of. We did Episode 83 on Valentine’s day, so you might want a take a look if you’re interested in all the green on this special day. My buddy recommended a gift that has a really small cake, some flowers, and when you open it, wind-up butterflies pop out and fly all over the room. Can’t wait to see that.

Ok, it really feels like it’s time to take things a bit more seriously in 2023 for me. At the end of the month, it’s ½ marathon time in the city of money. Las Vegas. My friend and I have always wanted to run the Vegas strip and now is the time. But, I’ve felt a bit slower than normal.

Well, this is the year to lose the weight that’s been slowing things done, and it’s the stuff that never came off after COVID did a number on a lot of us. It really needs to be done. If you run with that extra weight, it’s simply brutal on your knees. Each stride. Bam, Bam. It’s a little like compound interest, it really builds on itself, and in the case of running, it’s not good. But, my father was obese for about 50 years. So, I swore a long time ago, that I would do my best to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. The doctor suggested 20+ pounds, and if you look at the weight scales, it really points to about 50 “lbs” or pounds to put me in the center of my ideal weight for my height. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to add to the calendar with the job change, but with the first triathlon this year, it’s better to do it earlier than later, right?

I started several weeks ago, and I’m already feeling pretty good. I’m sure it will help with each part of the triathlon, so I’m pretty excited about making the change. When I started this life transformation…. Did you notice I didn’t dare do the “D” word? I dislike that dirty word. Anyway, it started to make me think about how closely this aligns with money. Yes, I know you’re thinking this might be weird, and I get it. But, let me make my point. We do love talking about money, right? Got LOVE in there again…

What do you think is one of the most important things I believe, and the overall financial industry is embracing as being pretty darn crucial before getting started with your financial goal? It’s really about getting your head in the game. What is your relationship with money? Do you have good feelings associated with it, feelings of shame or guilt, or just negative feelings when you were being raised that carry you into adulthood? You may think or have been taught that it’s the “Root of all evil”. Any way you look at it, you probably have some complicated feelings, and sorting them out a bit is good to be able to overcome them..

It’s exactly the same thing in regard to losing weight. You have to think about getting your head right. You realize that you want to change, and you may have a bad relationship with food. My dad would stress eat, which has been an interesting habit I know I picked up in some form because I saw it all the time when growing up. Other times, he simply just ate too much, because he may have been taught by his mother to clean his plate, and THEN he’d get a big dessert. Is there some habit your parents may have taught you about money that might not be a positive one?

So what needs to happen along the way? You have to have a plan. Which one am I talking about? Weight loss or managing your money? EXACTLY. It’s required for both. What’s the plan, Stan? You have to understand WHY you want to lose the weight or save the money. I want to be healthy for my kids, I don’t want to take ANY regular medications, and honestly, just look better. What’s my goal? Lose 50, I thought 23 for 2023, but I wanted a challenge. For the money, is it to save money for your kid’s college, nicer retirement or some cool stuff, travel, experiences? What’s the goal? Put away 100k, a million, or more. Once you got it straight then, you put the plan together. For weight loss, it means you have to cut calorie intake, which looks like cutting spending. You budget out your calories like you budget out your dollars. You exercise at the gym, or you work on your habits at the store.

What about getting help or even getting a support team? Weight Watchers has been rated #1 by U.S. News and World Report for 13 years in a row for a reason. I used it at one time to get some things turned around for me personally. I didn’t like the way I looked in some pictures that I saw at our company recognition programs at a prior job. It happens. Our group lost 1,000 pounds, supposedly in the shortest period of time EVER. It was cool. But, it came with support from the program as well as all the people in the program who’d see you and encourage you to keep going. Do you have anyone, either a person, financial planner, group or otherwise that you can share your financial success with? Or do you have a group of friends who actually support you to make better and healthier decisions?

If you have ever gone to the gym, it’s simply better with a workout partner. That’s support. They keep you going, remind you of your goal, and help. They can pressure you to get out of bed when it would be easier to sleep. You have to change your habits, or the weight comes back. At first, it was not easy. But, I got my mindset straight out of the gate. I knew there were going to be challenges, but I’m really happy I foresaw some things and was ready for them. I love pizza, so I knew I had to stay away for a while. Drinking leads me to binge eat. Time to cut the drinking. My body is already thanking me.

Have you ever analyzed some of your poor spending habits? I recently read about someone who had a problem with buying things they didn’t need. They started to track their spending habits and found that they did it later in the day. They then realized it happened when they were tired and stressed because it really cut their impulse control. In order to break the habit, they realized what was going on and they started to take a walk when the impulse started, or simply stayed away from a computer or called a friend. Something, anything more healthy when it was later in the day and life was amping up the stress.

A friend of mine told me a long time ago that life is daily. How simple, but how true. It’s not about just one moment. It’s about each day doing a little better. I remember a couple of quotes from Weight Watchers, but one of my favorites was “A minute on the lips, forever on the hips.” I’m a guy, so we don’t really talk about hips, but we definitely keep the weight around our waist. How about a Money Watchers program? That’s a good idea, right? Anyway, with money, a quick decision could get you in trouble over time. For instance, buying something you don’t need that you can’t afford can go on a credit card and hang with you for a VERY long time. If you spend a stupid Dime, you’ll pay for it a long time. Need to work on that.

I think you get the picture. I’m glad I got started because I’m already down 10 pounds. That’s the key, it’s never too late to start, you just have to take the first step. I’m not dead, but I am over 50, and since we’re talking 50’s, Mr. Grant is on the 50. Ulysses S. Grant that is. But, I threw Grant in there for fun. Hey, I miss those kids. Time for them to get back on the podcast, right?

Mak: Hey dad, did you say you wanted us back on the podcast?

Grant: I think he simply said he misses us, right dad?

Dad: YES. That’s a yes to missing you AND wanting you back. I think our listeners miss you guys too. I was just telling them about my better food choices.

Mak: You mean your DDDDDDD

Grant: Don’t say the “D” word, you know he Dislikes… that Disgusting…. word.

Dad: You’re right, I DDDDoooo. Anyway, I don’t want to be Round anymore. You’ll have to just love less of me.

Mak: We want you to be healthier too. It’s funny you said “Round” because Grant and I were just talking about Roundabouts. We think it’s funny when you act like you’re the only person who knows how to drive on them.

Grant: Yeah. Turn on your signal, why did you stop, you’re in the wrong lane… it’s pretty amusing.

Dad: Well there is a lot of bad driving. I have at least 35 years of experience and that’s almost twice as long as they’ve been in Carmel, where we live.

Mak: Dad, it’s still funny. You just have to roll with it. Don’t let yourself go around in circles.

Grant: Nice one. I saw what you did. But, you know us, dad. We do like to talk about money, so Mak let’s drop some knowledge on poor old dad related to roundabouts. They’re actually pretty interesting.

Dad: Ok, having you back on the show comes with some pain. But, I’d love to hear what you got. I love some good facts about money, and just doing things right. I have to believe roundabouts are a much better way to go.

Mak: First, for those who don’t know, a roundabout is like a 4 way stop, without the stop signs, and it’s really a big circle. You normally slow down to enter, and if someone is coming you yield to them.

Grant: The modern roundabout started in the UK in 1956 and Britain has about 3 people who die by car for every 100,000 inhabitants. They have about 8 roundabouts for every 100,000 people. Estimates say 90% fewer deaths.

Mak: But the United States has less than 1 roundabout for 100,000 people but we have almost 11 deaths per 100,000 people in car crashes. So, it definitely has something to do with roundabouts.

Grant: Ok, so Carmel, where we live has almost 140 roundabouts, with slightly over 100,000 people. So, that’s good odds, right? Let’s tell the world what a real benefit it is to have these things.

Dad: I love how you guys put some good time into this. I can’t wait to hear what you’ve found.

Mak: First the size of Carmel tripled in size, and the number of car accidents went down around 9%. That’s awesome. But, they cost about $250,000 less to build than an intersection with traffic lights.

Grant: Wow. If even half of the roundabouts which means 70 of them would’ve been traffic lights, that would be over $ 17 million, plus each one costs $5k in electricity which is $350,000 per year savings.

Dad: That’s absolutely amazing, but there has to be more.

Mak: Dad, since the estimate traffic moves 50% better, they don’t have to add lanes for more traffic due to congestion. So, they say it cuts down $7-10 million for a mile of roadway. So that could be hundreds of millions.

Grant: That’s absolutely insane and everybody saves time. It eliminates traffic jams and cars don’t sit and idle when waiting. It’s estimated that each one saves 24,000 gallons of gas. On 140 roundabouts at $3.50 per gallon, that’s….

Mak: PUSHING $12 million of savings to the people that live here. But more importantly, we’re helping mother earth with a lower carbon footprint. I LOVE THAT!!

Grant: So, going in circles isn’t all bad. And, they’re a ton safer, which creates smaller, safer intersections and it reduces accidents with pedestrians and cyclist paths from 10-40%.

Dad: So more walking and bike riding for me!

Mak/Grant: YOU GOT THAT RIGHT DAD!!

Dad: And, they’re better for beginners, like you guys as well as elderly drivers, like mom. Please don’t tell her I said that. Well, thank you so much for coming back and giving us some great insights

Mak: I got your back dad. And you’re welcome

Grant: Me too!
Dad: Well, you ready to do your thing?

Mak: Thanks for being here

Grant: And, we’ll see you next time for more.

Mak/Grant: Money with Mak & G!

Mak/Grant/Dad: BYE!!!